Helen's Andean Adventure

Trip to the altiplano (contd)

Tuesday
Early in the morning we embarked on our journey to the campo (villages) to visit the schools, examine their school breakfast program, and encourage the technicians that work in those remote areas.This area of Bolivia is very different from the tropics...most of the roads aren't paved (no coca plantations=less US funds), the climate is very cold and dry, and there is barely any electricity and water.There, I was not only able to see the real poverty and hardship that people face...the schools were small, without heat, the children were timid and covered in dirt, and barely anyone spoke Spanish (most people spoke Quechua, one of the main indigenous languages).Again, I felt like I took an intensive course in International Development while observing what the PCI technicians do and how humbly they live among the people they work with.They travel on motorcycles along the dusty and rocky roads all day visiting schools, instructing parents and teachers about health and nutrition, and changing attitudes towards education.I was definitely only a development "tourist" (straight out of Chamber's book for those who know his writing) driving around in a nice SUV and seeing the success of a development project that took months and months of hard work to achieve.
One of the best parts of the trip was finally seeing the animals that I have read so much about...the llamas.They are definitely unique creatures, shy, but friendly, and have an adorable face.They survive where it's driests and coldrest, and where sheep and cows don't do very well.PCI has a project to strenghten the llama owners by teaching them how to build corals where the animals would be safe from the wind and wolves. We visited one of those corals where the little kids helped me hold a llama.The thing that amazed me most is that those people were poor and barely spoke Spanish, but were so extremely kind and eager to please a stranger (me).
When I said that I stayed in a rather rustic hotel in the tropics, I didn't really understand the meaning of rustic.That night we stayed in a cold mountaneous pueblito (small town) with a small tap with cold water, a latrine, and a thin wall separating me from the frost of the night.I did survive that one night, but couldn't stop thinking about how people have to face these rough conditions their whole lives.

posted by HM @ 3:17 PM